Will 30-hour childcare succeed?

NO

By Neil Leitch, chief executive, Pre-school Learning Alliance

Has there ever been a policy with a more misleading name than the "30 hours free childcare" offer?

For one thing, it is not actually 30 hours a week if parents take up the offer all year round, and it is not just childcare being delivered, but rather, quality early care and education.

Most importantly - and I cannot stress this enough - it is not free.

We all know the problem: government funding for so-called "free places" does not cover the cost to providers of delivering them.

It didn't for the 15-hour scheme, and recently published funding rates show that, for most providers, it won't for 30 hours.

Of course, that funding gap has to be made up elsewhere: either by providers absorbing losses, working extra hours for free and relying on fundraising; or parents paying above the odds for any goods or services that sit outside the so-called "free entitlement". In what world is that a "free" offer?

The solution is not complicated. The Department for Education needs to either fund the offer adequately, or admit to parents that the provision they are being offered is subsidised, and not free.

Instead, what we have is a government that insists on talking about the "record amounts of funding" going into early years, about the sector "rising to the challenge", about the need for providers to be more "creative" and "innovative" - when we all know that the money needed to make this pledge work in practice simply isn't there.

Many of the 30-hour pilots - supposedly designed to test the viability of the offer - have worked on the basis of either providers being paid a higher rate than they will receive in September, or parents paying what are in effect top-ups.

Supporters of the scheme may accuse us of negativity, but I can't see much for us to be positive about at the moment.

With the snap general election taking place in June, the future of early years policy in England is suddenly a lot less certain than previously thought.

Assuming that the Conservative Party wins a majority in June, as predicted, it is widely expected to proceed with its 30-hour manifesto pledge.

If it does, it has to ensure that it is funded properly - not just now, but in the years to come. Anything less could put the viability of the offer and, more importantly, the sustainability of the entire sector, at risk.

YES

By James Hempsall, national programme director, Childcare Works

The policy is extremely popular with parents struggling to juggle work, home life and childcare arrangements. This is evident from all the feedback in the eight early implementation and the four early roll-out areas.

Most of the concerns from national and local providers compare with those raised about free childcare for disadvantaged two-year-olds at the same stage. We all worked hard to tackle those - that gives me hope. This is an idea and new business opportunity broadly welcomed by the early years sector, and everyone is listening to their concerns.

This sector understands the important support role we offer to help families work and achieve their goals, alongside our central roles of supporting children's wellbeing and learning outcomes. For me, it has always been a double deal: children learning, growing and developing, and families managing and achieving their economic wellbeing. I don't think it is possible to do one without fully considering the other.

With only a few months to go to the full launch in September, there is still much to do and to consider. The work on early implementation reveals several themes that will help: information; business planning; partnerships and collaboration; demand and supply; and thinking differently.

Parents, providers and partners all need to be confident they have all the information to hand at every stage. Early dialogue with staff teams, other providers and schools, the local authority, and current parents and potential parent users is vital. Everyone needs to know the eligibility criteria - one of the biggest reasons people don't take up any entitlement is they wrongly assume it is not for them.

All providers committing to deliver 30 hours must review their business plans and financial models, and when that has been done, review them again. This is where partnerships and collaboration may be advantageous - peer-to-peer support shared between settings, schools and childminders can provide much needed second opinions and best practice ideas. It needs hard work and tenacity. Settings may need to collaborate to ensure the full 30 hours is available, free at the point of delivery for children each week.

The DfE's operational guidance will show what their thinking is in terms of the practical ways of delivering 30 hours in sustainable ways and the opportunities for providers' income generation too.

If the early implementation is anything to go by, 30 hours will make a tremendous difference of which we will all be proud.

• Childcare Works has a contract to support providers to implement the 30-hour offer